SABEW17 to focus on reinventing business journalism

The Society of American Business Editors and Writers meets in Seattle on April 27-29 and focuses on reinventing storytelling and business journalism.

You’ll get to spend time with the tools, platforms and business models you need to more effectively do your job, network with senior executives from top companies and interact with top thinkers on how new technologies are changing business journalism. The early bird rate ends March 31. Register today.

There are still several sessions in the works, including a hands-on session on data visualization.

A Conversation with Michael Shane: Innovating in the Age of Platforms.

At a time when 99 percent of all digital ad sales growth came from two companies — Facebook and Google — Bloomberg’s global digital innovation chief, and former operations director for the Verge, talks about prototyping for the future and what journalists, product teams, and revenue teams need to focus on to not only survive, but to thrive.

Robots Will Change Your Newsroom: Are you ready?

Reg Chua, Reuters’ editor of data and innovation, presents a provocative talk on how technology has made it possible for us to think more creatively about story forms that will better serve readers — and perhaps even our own bottom line — and how we will take advantage of that opportunity. Includes a discussion of the latest in how machine learning is being used in business news, and whether it’s right for your newsroom. With Chua, Lisa Gibbs of Associated Press and Robbie Allen, CEO of Automated Insights.

That Sound you hear is a Drone. (Hands On)

Learn how business journalists can incorporate aerial photography into their reporting, understand the legal landscape, determine the right drone to buy, participate in a demonstration and more. Featuring The Drone Girl: Sally French, drone technology reporter and social media manager of MarketWatch.

Why InfoSec should be your favorite new buzzword.

Information. It’s the most important commodity in the modern world. And from Edward Snowden’s protocols to anonymous tip dropboxes, protecting information is critical — especially for journalists, whose livelihood depends on its security. Join Olivia Martin, a digital security fellow at Freedom of the Press Foundation, as she walks us through the importance of InfoSec in a digital news environment. Learn how to protect yourself, your digital accounts, your sources and your stories from threats you can’t see until it’s too late.

After Martin’s session is over, take advantage of her expertise one-on-one, as she holds office hours for anyone who’s interested in individual help.

Personal Finance for the Uber Generation.

Shelley Venus, Mic’s Executive Producer and Head of Video, talks about their newly launched “The Payoff” vertical and creating engaging content for people facing life’s first big financial questions: How do I handle student debt? When should I buy a house? How can I afford to have a kid? When do I start saving for retirement? Using The Payoff as an example, the session will examine content strategies for the millennial audience and include discussion with personal finance journalists about millennials and their money. Attendees will come away with story ideas and coverage strategies.

Virtual Reality: 360 in Your Business Reporting. (Hands On)

The basics in of using 360 video in business coverage, presented in a hands-on session from the Reynolds Center for Business Journalism.

Guess what? People in Their 20s and 30s Love Business News.

Jon Steinberg’s Cheddar is rebooting live business video aimed at a young, business-savvy audience. In this session, the former president and COO of Buzzfeed will unpack what’s working with adults in their 20s and 30s, and how Cheddar is delivering it through deals with Twitter, Amazon Channels and Vanity Fair.

CNBC Makes It Happen.

CNBC’s Make It focuses on all things money and success for the next generation of leaders, zeroing in on the core topics of entrepreneurs, leadership, careers and personal finance. Jay Yarow, CNBC Digital Executive Editor, and Make It Managing Editor Jenna Goudreau talk about the new platform and how it extends CNBC’s reach to a broader audience making the site a must-read for anyone who wants to get ahead in their careers, companies and financial lives.

You’d Better Know Your Audience: Lessons from CNNMoney’s War Room.

Using data to understand your audience is more critical than ever. CNNMoney has developed and deployed the latest technologies to fuel its growth into one of the top five financial news sites. Leezel Tanglao, AME-programming at CNNMoney, shares how her team relies on and exploits audience data to program, present and package multimedia editorial content across desktop, mobile and social media.

Using Videos to Tell Business and Finance Stories. (Hands On)

Wochit, the cloud-based video creation platform, teaches you how to make ready-to-publish video in fewer than 15 minutes.

How Drawing Pictures Can Make you a Better Journalist. (Hands On)

Explore how the art of storytelling can begin with … art. Leah Kohlenberg, a former journalist and founder of The Roaming Studio (www.theroamingstudio.com), will lead you through a drawing exercise — yes, even if you “can’t draw” — and demonstrate how stirring your creative juices helps you report and tell better stories. She’s been doing this with news organizations and academic environments for a couple of years now, researching it along the way. Her early conclusion: It really works!

Creating Effective Infographics when Words are Your Jam. (Hands On)

Puget Sound Business Journal Creative Director and Assistant Managing Editor Ryan Lambert teaches words people how to create simple charts, maps and other info graphics using easy-to-access programs. Bring your own technology — doesn’t matter what kind — and you’ll walk out of this session with what you need to add value to your stories without help from your design team.

Managing Millennials: How They’re Different and why it Matters.

Managing millennials has been the collective struggle in legacy newsrooms across the country for half a dozen years. And maybe that’s the problem. Perhaps “managing” them employs the wrong verb. What if more seasoned leaders instead worked to embrace and learn from the younger people in their newsrooms? That’s the point of Kristen Fife, a senior technical recruiter who’s worked for Microsoft, HP/Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Comcast, RealNetworks and Zulily. She’s an expert at helping millennials and their managers see the value in each other’s expertise and communicate more effectively as they pursue the common goal: A workplace where everyone is valued for the talent they bring to the table.

Conversations in the Hospitality Loft.

Join executives from some of Seattle’s most important companies in an informal setting designed to foster conversation and relationship-building. No speeches. No panels. Just a chance to talk face-to-face with senior executive sources you’ve been trying to reach or could use in your reporting. Stay tuned to this space as we confirm our guests.

Chris Roush is the Walter E. Hussman Sr. Distinguished Professor in business journalism at UNC-Chapel Hill. He is a former business journalist for Bloomberg News, Businessweek, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, The Tampa Tribune and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune. He is the author of the leading business reporting textbook "Show me the Money: Writing Business and Economics Stories for Mass Communication" and "Thinking Things Over," a biography of former Wall Street Journal editor Vermont Royster.